To the truth he says, "Don't believe that." or "That couldn't be true."

To things that are false he says, "That's logical, isn¹t it?" In other words, he wants us to believe just the opposite. Isn't he the one that is always turning things upside down?

Does Satan ever tell the whole truth? The answer is no. He always mixes error with truth. He often tells a complete lie, but he never tells the complete truth. Didn't he give Eve a portion of the truth? Yes, mixed with error. He wanted Eve to do something that he thought would frustrate the work of God. But he didn't know the mind of God so he actually gave the work of God a little shove. Yes, Satan does use some truth, but it is always to frustrate the work of God. It must disturb him considerably to use any truth at all, for his very nature compels him to lie.

Does Satan ever do good? If he does it is unintentional. Listen to Mormon on the subject:

He steals your time.
He steals your reputation.
He steals your goods.
He steals your good attitude, and above all;
He steals your faith in God, if you let him.

To unmask all of the works of the devil would be a gigantic undertaking, but one more needs to be mentioned. It has been suggested that "discouragement" is the greatest tool of Satan. I sometimes think that Satan is the author of the idea concerning discouragement. Could it be that rebellion is the most efficient tool of Satan? Moses and Joseph Smith tell us why Satan was cast down to the earth:

Now let us return to the condemnations and the attitudes that brought them about. A few of them are:

Do you begin to see how Satan is continuing his rebellious work? Are we helping him? If you are discouraged it is probably because of rebellious attitudes toward the work of God.
 
 

At the risk of over-simplification I want to suggest that the initial step of faith is simply "choosing to believe". Man was given his agency. He can choose to believe or not to believe. Belief or unbelief is simply a state of mind. It goes something like this. You hear something. The Holy Spirit says, "That's true." The unholy spirit says, "Believe it not." You vote to go one way or another way with a two-thirds majority. The beautiful thing about it is that sometimes when you discover you have been wrong you can call for a recount and change your mind. Listen as Luke tells about the unbelief of Zacharias.

When a person does turn from unbelief to belief a miracle has taken place. Listen as John the Beloved describes this miracle in the calling of Nathanael.

In the past century there has been one of the greatest explosions of knowledge that the world has known. In every field of study it has been difficult just to catalog the new discoveries. We have put men on the moon and brought them safely home. Medical feats have been performed that were unheard of just a short time ago. The potential for the future staggers the imagination. Knowledge is so everywhere present that it is almost impossible for an individual to keep up with his present profession, to say nothing of the thousands of other fields of knowledge that exist. For every problem that has been solved a dozen other problems are brought to the surface that were unknown. The quest for knowledge goes on and on. Specialization increases because we can't cover the whole field. If anyone were to suggest that we stop trying to solve the problems of today's world, someone would call for the men in the white coats. As absurd as this idea may seem in the field of education, yet it has been sold to uncounted generations of the world in the field of religion. The effects have been devastating.

In the meridian of time the Savior came to the earth and introduced the gospel in person. Many believed. Others wrote and recorded the happenings of the day. The power of God was in evidence almost everywhere, but shortly after the death of the apostles, a new doctrine was introduced into the gospel. What was that doctrine? "WE HAVE ENOUGH." THE CANON OF SCRIPTURE IS FULL." "GOD HAS CEASED SPEAKING." Did the people believe it? Most assuredly. The gospel was to be preached with power in all the nations of the earth, but this one malicious, deceptive doctrine from the father of lies, set the stage for the whole world to be engulfed in darkness. The gospel light sputtered, faded and finally went out. Had not Nephi taught:

People become vain over many things. Vanity does not come from the Lord. Some become vain because they belong to the true church. A young lady moved into our town from California. She was in the eighth grade. The first question she was asked was, "Are you a Mormon?" She had to answer, "No." She was immediately excluded by those who could help her. She never was accepted because she wasn't a Mormon. Perhaps these members of the church were just a little vain about their membership. The opportunity to demonstrate the gospel in their lives, to show love and concern, and to share the gospel was lost because of vanity. After all, they were better than she was.

Many of the prophets have been asked this question, "What is the greatest need in the world?" Without hesitation they answer, "FAITH IN GOD." Surely no answer could be more profound or timely. The answer has been so in all ages of the world. It requires faith in God to overcome selfishness. It has been said that the attitude of selfishness is the underlying motive of all sin. Lack of faith is also a large contributing factor. A thief steals because of selfishness. Does he have faith in God? No. But what of the substance which we earn by our labors. Why should we impart our substance to others who have not earned them by their labors? Don't they need to OVERCOME SELFISHNESS and to develop FAITH IN GOD, too? There are many events happening on the earth today that would lead us to do just the opposite. Inflation is prostituting the value of currency while a recession is throwing thousands of people out of work. Whatever the government planners do to stem one problem aggravates the other. People are becoming fearful. They don't know where to turn. The wisdom of the wise seems to have perished completely. If we continue to look toward the government for the solution to these grave problems we will look in vain. Can we expect solutions from government officials whose actions seem to be wholly selfish? Pay increases seem to go through without a hitch. What about the people of this nation? Are they without fault? Absolutely not. Greed and selfishness are rampant in the land. We have millions of people on the welfare rolls, many of whom could work. Many of the wealthy of the nation are on government subsidies, another word for welfare. In short, it seems to be the spirit of the people of this nation to get all they can from whatever source, honorably or dishonorably. Because of ignorance they think the government is the best source. Perhaps we should consider the words of Alma to his son Helaman:

And He sat down, and taught the people out of the ship. (Luke 5:3)

What did the Savior do? After the sermon He demonstrated that He was capable of assisting Simon and his partners in meeting their everyday needs. Fishing was their livelihood, and the Savior rewarded them in that manner. Could it be that GIVING and LENDING are the keys to the KING'S treasury?
 
 

Ahab, king of Israel, built a grove to worship Baal. The Lord was displeased so he sent Elijah to Ahab with a short message. "You haven't paid your water bill. Your water is going to be shut off." That's right. No dew nor rain. You can just imagine how Ahab felt about that. He wasn't the least bit happy. Elijah could see that it might not be healthy if he stayed for dinner so he strategically withdrew. He fled east to the brook Cherith to hide. He had water to drink, and the ravens fed him bread and flesh night and morning. That worked well for a while but without rain the brook went dry. Now that created a problem for Elijah, but the Lord was right on top of the problem. The Lord told Elijah,

Now that we have examined several instances in the Bible that demonstrated unselfishness and the ability to share, let us now turn to the promises that the Lord has given to the unselfish. As we examine the promises let us also examine our own faith in the Lord. In other words, do we believe the promises? Will they work for us? Are they based on principle or happenstance?

To examine the principle of giving and its rewards, perhaps nothing demonstrates it better than farming. Within the past year we have read of the terrible drought conditions of Central Africa. The lack of rain has caused a great famine. People are in desperate need. Hunger, starvation and death stalk the plains. It has been reported that things are so bad that people have eaten the seed that was to be planted the next year. Every farmer knows that the one thing you cannot eat is the seed for the next season. In the seed lies their faith and hope in the future. If the seed is eaten the possibility of having any kind of a future at all is greatly diminished.

What does the farmer do with the seed? He doesn't eat it. He gives it away to the right soil. He plants it as a sacrifice. Does he expect to be rewarded for the sacrifice? Yes, abundantly. If he didn't look forward to the abundant harvest he would not plant it in the first place. He believes there will be an abundant return. For a kernel of wheat he can expect forty to sixty kernels in return. For a kernel of corn he will expect two hundred to six hundred kernels in return.

Should I expect a return for giving, sharing, imparting of my substance and sacrificing? That is like asking if the farmer should plant without expecting a harvest. Of course, we should expect a return--an abundant return that will meet all our needs. The expectation of the return is the manifestation of our faith--the belief that we are literally the children of God and that He cares for each one of us. Listen to Paul the Apostle:

In the October General Conference 1974, Henry D. Taylor tells of President Marion G. Romney's challenging statement. "If we will DOUBLE OUR FAST OFFERINGS we shall INCREASE OUR PROSPERITY both SPIRITUALLY and TEMPORALLY." (Nov 1974 Ensign p. 14) That is the promise from a servant of the Lord. Do we believe it? If we do, we will double our fast offerings and look forward eagerly to the spiritual and temporal increase. It may not come immediately, but it will come if we believe that it will. Let us do as Paul suggests:

Perhaps no one ever issued a stronger challenge than Malachi.

Prosperity is a two-edged sword. It can be a great blessing -- or a damnable cursing. If pride, vanity and unbelief come into the picture, it will be a cursing. If humility, thanksgiving, obedience, proper attitudes and pure motives can be maintained, prosperity can be a blessing. To the possessors of this land the promise has always been: